Economics in Russia

View of Sofiyskaya Embankment from across Moskva River. Balchug Street (far left), Belltower of St. Sophia (middle), Rosneft Headquarters. The latter was built in 1890s as free public housing.

The Russian economy continues to slow down. The effects of sanctions have yet to be fully felt. For one thing, some foreign companies that left Russia kept paying their workforce as if they were still employed. Early in the war, the calculation was that Russia would come back to its senses, and they would be able to resume operations.

By the fall these payments will stop because there is a limit on how many losses these companies can take. It’s also beyond obvious that the Federation is not yet ready to come to its senses.

There are a few things that matter from this piece. I am not quoting all of it, but you can go find it later and use Google Translate to get the full flavor.

>Incomes of Russians grew when the Russian economy grew — in 1999–2008 by an average of 6.9% per year. By 2014, the conditional middle class, considered the core of society, in Russia had reached 30–35% of the country’s population in terms of income. But then everything went down.

This is a critical point. The Federation had a growing middle class, with all that this implies. These are vacations, school, and material things like cell phones and cars. Even perhaps washing machines and in urban areas more internal plumbing.

The middle classes are the core of a modern economy, and its existence is generally speaking a good thing. Before the war, we did…